Unlike an ordinary knot, a mathematical knot, such as a figure 8, cannot be untied. Likewise, the troubled souls in Phinneas Kiyomura’s discerning drama stay inextricably linked, sometimes by blood, sometimes by chance and always by their fallibly human behavior. Co-directed by Kiyomura and Jerry Kernion, the play ignites around a celebrity musician named E (Alex Elliott-Funk, in some of the evening’s best work) as he wrestles with the vituperative goading of two invisible interviewers. The scene blazes to a climax, followed by seven scenes depicting E’s family and associates as they engage in adultery, incest and assault, among other sordid pursuits. The most entertaining performance within this grim albeit humor-laced panorama comes from Kirsten Vangsness as a loopy gal who initiates her own porn enterprise after she’s fired from her job (her dismissal prompts her to attack and permanently brain-damage her supervisor (Michelle Gardner). Also notable are Trevor H. Olsen as a man wrestling with remorse and Eleanor Van Hest in an eerie portrayal of a coke-addicted schoolmarm displaced from reality. Videographer Bryan Maier’s camera records the onstage action throughout, projecting it in real time on either side of the tiny proscenium to bring about a heightened emotional punch. Not every segment is equally strong; several might be intensified with pruning.

About the Author: COLIN MITCHELL: Actor/Writer/Director/Producer/Father, award-winning playwright and screenwriter, Broadway veteran, Marvel comics scribe, Van Morrison disciple, Zen-Catholic, a proud U.S. Army Brat conceived in Scotland and born in Frankfurt, Germany, currently living in Los Angeles and doing his best to piss off as many people as possible.